Break apart container for small articles

ABSTRACT

The invention is concerned with a container having a plurality of rectangular compartments therein for receiving small articles for transparent blister members are placed in the compartments to retain the articles therein. The compartments are arranged in two parallel rows in the container and the container has a weakened region which permits it to be stepped into two parts, each part having a row of the compartments therein. The container furthermore has weakened regions between adjacent ones of the compartments so that the compartments can be broken of singly.

United States Patent Leonard A. Zaremski Pittsburgh, Pa.

Sept. 18, 1968 Feb. 16, 1971 Kennametal Inc.

Latrobe, Pa.

a corporation of Pennsylvania Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented AssigneeBREAK APART CONTAINER FOR SMALL ARTICLES 14 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

US. 220/233; 206/42; 206/56 Int. Cl. 865d 21/00, 365d 83/04 Field ofSearch 220/23.4,

23.6, 23.8; 206/42, 56A3, 56A4, 78B

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,3 24,996 6/1967 Jordt206/42 3,351,192 1 1/1967 La Plante 206/56A3 FOREIGN PATENTS 438,146 11/1967 Switzerland 206/56A3 Primary Examiner-George E. LowranceAttorney-Melvin A. Crosby ABSTRACT: The invention is concerned with acontainer having a plurality of rectangular compartments therein forreceiving small articles for transparent blister members are placed inthe compartments to retain the articles therein. The compartments arearranged in two parallel rows in the container and thecontainer has aweakened region which permits it to be-stepped into two parts, each parthaving a row of the compartments therein. The container furthermore hasweakened regions between adjacent ones of the compartments so that thecompartments can be broken of singly.

. PATENTEUFEBIBISYI 356 3405 SHEET 2 OF 2' FIG-7 INVENTOR.

LEONARD A.. zAREMsm BY W LM BREAK APART CONTAINER FOR SMALL ARTICLESThis invention relates to a container or package and is particularlyconcerned with a multicompartment package which can readily be brokenapart to form smaller containers or to remove articles from thecontainer;

Many articles are sold in units of one or in groups, depend ing upon thepurchaser's desires or needs, and when such articles are supplied inmultiple package form certain problems are introduced because of thevariation in the quantity sold. A particular item of this nature, and inconnection with which the present invention is illustrated, is adisposable cutting insert adapted for being detachably mounted on a toolholder. Such inserts are advantageously packaged in groups of, say butmay be sold in units of five, or even smaller units, and after havingbeen sold are usually dispensed for use one at a time.

It is a convenience and an economy for the manufacturer to be able topackage such inserts in groups of 10 and it is a matter of considerableconvenience to the purchaser to be able to dispense the inserts from thepackage singly while the remaining ones of the inserts remain in thepackage or container and are protected thereby.

The present invention is particularly concerned with a novel containeror package arrangement especially adapted for packaging articles, suchas throwaway cutting tool inserts, so that a convenience and economyresults for the manufacturer, for sales people, and also for' thepurchaser and consumer.

The present invention is also concerned with a container of the naturereferred to which protects articles placed there from damage at alltimes.

Still further, the container according to the present invention isconstructed so that it can receive articles of different sizes and allof which are retained within the container without excessive freedom ofmovement.

The exact nature of the present invention will become more clearlyapparent upon reference to the following detailed specification taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view looking down on top of a container according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2. is a bottom plan view looking up at the bottom of the container;

FIG. 3 is a side view looking in the direction of the arrow III in FIG.I;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view indicated by line IV-IV on FIG. I;y

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view indicated by line V-V on FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a blister employed with thecontainer to retain articles therein;

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view similar to FIG. 4 but showing amodification for locking the blister in the container;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a blister of a type different from that ofFIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a plan view of still another type of blister. SUM- MARY OF THEINVENTION The present invention is concerned with a container,preferably of plastic, such as, polystyrene, and having multiplecompartments therein arranged in two rows on opposite sides of thecenter of the container. The container is formed with a weakened regionextending along the center so that it can be broken in two to providetwo smaller containers when a purchaser uses a smaller amount that iscontained within the complete container.

The container is also provided with weakened regions between adjacentones of the compartment on each side of the center of the container sothat the individual compartments can be broken off one at a time topermit dispensing of the articles one at a time.

The compartments are adapted to receive the articles to be packaged andthe articles are confined within the compartments by blister memberswhich are retained in the compartments when they are pressed therein.

To accommodate the container to articles of different size and shape,blisters of different sizes and shape are provided,

all having the same dimensions ovenall so that all will fit uniformlysized compartments of the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings somewhat more in detail,FIG. I- -5 show a container having a main body part generally indicatedat 10 and which is formed with a plurality of compartments 12, all ofthe same size and shape. The compartments are defined by a bottom wall14 of the body, a peripheral wall 16, a central longitudinal wall 18 andlateral walls 20 extend ing between the central wall 18 and theperipheral wall 16 at the sides of the container.

At the ends of the container body, the lateral walls 20 are spacedinwardly from the ends of the container body 29 to leave end portions 22and 24 which permit ready handling of the container and which mayreceive identifying ledgends, or the like. Each compartment 12 has ahole 26 provided in the bottom wall thereof in about the center. Thishole can be availed of for pushing the articles therein out of thecompartment. or for pushing the blister out of the compartment so thatthe article will readily drop therefrom.

As will be seen in FIG. 4, central wall 18 is in the fonn of an invertedU-shape section so that between the row of compartments 12 on one sideof the longitudinal center of the container and the row of compartments12. on one side of the longitudinal center of the container and the rowof compartments 12 on the other side thereof, there is a weak region,designated by arrow 28, such that the two side parts of the containercan be broken apart quite readily. As will be seen in FIG. 2 the endportions 22 and 24 of the container are hollow toward the bottom of thecontainer and the outer confining wall portions thereof are interruptedat 30 so as to provide a continuation of the weak region 28 completelyto the ends of the container.

Furthermore, as will be seen in FIG. 5, between each adjacent pair ofcompartments 12, there is a second weakened region, indicated by arrow32, and formed by transversely extending slots 34 extending through thebottom wall 14 of the container adjacent the pertaining wall 20, andfurther more extending completely across the container in the lateraldirection. The slots 34 permit the individual compartments to be brokenoff from the container after the container has been broken apart on thelongitudinal center line, so that individual articles can readily bedispensed from the container by the user.

A blister element, formed of thin clear acetate, for example, isprovided for each compartment for retaining the respective articletherein. FIG. 6 shows one such blister formed of, for example, acetatematerial having a thickness of 0.0l0 inches and vacuum formed so as tohave a substantially rectangular cavity 40 with a peripheral rim 42projecting laterally from the open end of the cavity.

The dimensions of rim 42 is slightly greater in each direction than therespective dimensions of the compartment in which it is to be disposedso that when the blister is pressed in place in a compartment it will becompressed slightly and will remain therein. One such blister is shownin dot-dash outline in FIG. 5 by the reference numeral 44.

Normally, a container will receive articles of a single size only andall of the blisters placed in the container to retain the articles inplace would, therefore, be of a single size only. The container shownmakes up a package of 10 of the articles and an entire package can besold or the package can be broken in two and a half package containing 5articles can be sold. If an entire package is sold, the purchaser canbreak the package in half and then each individual compartment of thepackage can be broken off singly for dispensing the articles therefrom.

As will be seen in FIG. 7, ribs or knobs or other protuberances 46 couldbe provided adjacent the bottom wall of the compartments for engagingthe rim of the blister if so desired. The provision of suchprotuberances will substantially eliminate any possibility of theblisters coming out of the compartments accidentally even if thepackages are roughly han dled during shipping.

As mentioned, the blisters used with the container all have the samelongitudinal dimension X, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and the samedimension Y at right angles thereto. To accommodate the package toarticles of different size and/or different shape, the blisters aredifferently formed as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

The blister shown in FIG. 8 has a generally rectangular cavity 50 formedtherein with small pocket regions; 52 in the center of one side and S4at the ends of the opposite side. This blister is thus adapted forholding square articles of a certain size, round articles ofsubstantially the same diameter as the length of a side of the squarearticle, triangular articles of a size such that the apices thereon willenter pockets 52 and 54, and diamond shaped articles.

The blister shown in FIG. 9 has a cavity 56 adapted for receivingdiamond shaped articles.

It will be evident that the blisters could be formed to substantiallyany size and shape and all the possibilities have not been illustratedherein but only enough have been illustrated to show that a multiplicityof different sizes and shapes can be packaged in one and the samecontainer having compartments all of the same size and shape.

H0. 7 shows protruberances 46 for engaging over the flange of theblister element to hold the blister element in the compartment of themain container part but it will be appreciated that the flange of theblister element could also be retained in place by fonning groove meansabout the periphery of the compartment near the bottom for receiving theflange of the blister element could be heat sealed or otherwise sealedto the bottom wall of the respective compartment if so desired.

It will be apparent that modifications could be made in the structureillustrated and described and that the invention is determined by thescope of the appended claims.

lclaim:

l. A container for receiving a plurality of articles and comprising; agenerally flat main container part having a plurality of adjacentrecesses extending thereinto from the top thereof, all of said recessesbeing of the same size and shape and each forming a compartment forreceiving one of said articles, said compartments being arranged in twoadjacent and parallel longitudinal rows, a blister element receivable ineach compartment adapted to confine an article in the respectivecompartment, each said blister element comprising a thin plastic memberhaving a downwardly opening cavity for receiving the article in thecompartment in which the blister element is placed, said blister elementhaving a peripheral flange closely fitting within the compartment so asto be retained within the compartment when placed therein, and said maincontainer part having a first weakened region extending in a straightline longitudinally of said main container part between the said tworows of the compartments so the container can be broken into two smallerparts each having one of said rows of compartments therein, and saidmain container part further comprising second weakened regions extendinglaterally between each adjacent pair of compartments so that thecompartments of said main container part can be broken off from saidsmaller parts one at a time.

2. A container according to claim 1 in which said weakened regions areprovided by slot means formed upwardly into said main container partfrom the bottom.

3. A container according to claim 2 in which said weakened regions areprovided by slot means formed upwardly into said main container partfrom the bottom.

4. A container according to claim 2 in which the said weakened regionextending in a straight line between the two rows of compartments is inthe form of a pair of closely spaced walls, each forming one sidewall ofthe compartments of a respective one of said rows of compartments, and asection of the main container part joining the said spaced walls at thetop of the container.

5. A container according to claim 2 in which said main container parthas a single laterally extending wall between each adjacent pair of comartments in each said row and each of said second weakene regionscomprises a transverse slot extending into said main container part fromthe bottom thereof toward the top but terminating short of the top ofthe main container part, each slot being positioned immediately adjacenta said laterally extending wall.

6. A container according to claim 1 in which each compartment has anaperture in its bottom wall to permit the use of a rodlike element forpushing the blister element out of the compartment to release an articlecontained within the compartment.

7. A container according to claim 1 in which means are formed on theinner periphery of each compartment near the bottom thereof adapted toengage over the flange of the respective blister element for retainingthe said blister element in the compartment.

8. A container according to claim 7 in which said means in eachcompartment comprises groove means formed in the periphery of thecompartment and adapted to receive the edge of the peripheral flange ofthe respective blister element.

9. A container according to claim 7 in which said means in eachcompartment comprises protruberance means adapted to engage over theflange of the respective blister means.

10. A container according to claim 1 in which the flange of each blisterelement rests on the bottom wall of the respective compartment and issealed thereto.

11. A container according to claim 10 in which the flange of eachblister element is heat sealed to the bottom wall of the respectivecompartment.

12. a container according to claim 1 in which the cavity in said blisterelement is rectangular.

13. A container according to claim 1 in which the cavity in said blisterelement is in the form of a parallelogram.

14. A container according to claim 1 in which the cavity in said blisterelement is substantially polygonal with straight sidewalls and is formedwith notch means extending axially of the cavity and distributed aboutthe interior of the cavity for receiving the corners of an article to beenclosed within the cavity.

1. A container for receiving a plurality of articles and comprising; agenerally flat main container part having a plurality of adjacentrecesses extending thereinto from the top thereof, all of said recessesbeing of the same size and shape and each forming a compartment forreceiving one of said articles, said compartments being arranged in twoadjacent and parallel longitudinal rows, a blister element receivable ineach compartment adapted to confine an article in the respectivecompartment, each said blister element comprising a thin plastic memberhaving a downwardly opening cavity for receiving the article in thecompartment in which the blister element is placed, said blister elementhaving a peripheral flange closely fitting within the compartment so asto be retained within the compartment when placed therein, and said maincontainer part having a first weaKened region extending in a straightline longitudinally of said main container part between the said tworows of the compartments so the container can be broken into two smallerparts each having one of said rows of compartments therein, and saidmain container part further comprising second weakened regions extendinglaterally between each adjacent pair of compartments so that thecompartments of said main container part can be broken off from saidsmaller parts one at a time.
 2. A container according to claim 1 inwhich said weakened regions are provided by slot means formed upwardlyinto said main container part from the bottom.
 3. A container accordingto claim 2 in which said weakened regions are provided by slot meansformed upwardly into said main container part from the bottom.
 4. Acontainer according to claim 2 in which the said weakened regionextending in a straight line between the two rows of compartments is inthe form of a pair of closely spaced walls, each forming one sidewall ofthe compartments of a respective one of said rows of compartments, and asection of the main container part joining the said spaced walls at thetop of the container.
 5. A container according to claim 2 in which saidmain container part has a single laterally extending wall between eachadjacent pair of compartments in each said row and each of said secondweakened regions comprises a transverse slot extending into said maincontainer part from the bottom thereof toward the top but terminatingshort of the top of the main container part, each slot being positionedimmediately adjacent a said laterally extending wall.
 6. A containeraccording to claim 1 in which each compartment has an aperture in itsbottom wall to permit the use of a rodlike element for pushing theblister element out of the compartment to release an article containedwithin the compartment.
 7. A container according to claim 1 in whichmeans are formed on the inner periphery of each compartment near thebottom thereof adapted to engage over the flange of the respectiveblister element for retaining the said blister element in thecompartment.
 8. A container according to claim 7 in which said means ineach compartment comprises groove means formed in the periphery of thecompartment and adapted to receive the edge of the peripheral flange ofthe respective blister element.
 9. A container according to claim 7 inwhich said means in each compartment comprises protruberance meansadapted to engage over the flange of the respective blister means.
 10. Acontainer according to claim 1 in which the flange of each blisterelement rests on the bottom wall of the respective compartment and issealed thereto.
 11. A container according to claim 10 in which theflange of each blister element is heat sealed to the bottom wall of therespective compartment.
 12. a container according to claim 1 in whichthe cavity in said blister element is rectangular.
 13. A containeraccording to claim 1 in which the cavity in said blister element is inthe form of a parallelogram.
 14. A container according to claim 1 inwhich the cavity in said blister element is substantially polygonal withstraight sidewalls and is formed with notch means extending axially ofthe cavity and distributed about the interior of the cavity forreceiving the corners of an article to be enclosed within the cavity.